<p>I currently hold an H-4 visa, which allows me to study but not work. I'm pretty sure I can still work on campus though. My family is in the process of getting green cards.</p>
<p>Right now I can change my H-4 into a F-1 visa, but I don't really see any good reasons to do so. </p>
<p>Am I missing something important?</p>
<p>I thought an H-4 visa did not allow students to work at all, not even on campus, but I might be wrong. </p>
<p>I don’t think you are missing anything else. If you expect to get a green card in the near future, there’s no point applying for a F-1 visa. It might be worth considering though if you want to do a summer internship before you get your green card.</p>
<p>Looks to me like you can’t work on an H-4 visa. Period. The H-1 visa holder is supposed to be making enough money to cover your expenses:</p>
<p>[H4</a> Extension - Can I extend my stay on H-4 visa?](<a href=“http://faq.visapro.com/H4-Visa-FAQ2.asp]H4”>http://faq.visapro.com/H4-Visa-FAQ2.asp)</p>
<p>I googled around and you’re right, I can’t even work on campus with an H-4 visa… It’s not that big of a factor to me though, since I will probably get my green card by soph year. </p>
<p>Looks like I’ll be sticking with my H-4 unless I’m missing something big here.</p>
<p>@tmt64.</p>
<p>The only disadvantage with being on an H4 is that you CAN NOT work even on campus, as it has already been said. Might miss out on first year internship opportunities.</p>
<p>Maybe, just maybe, colleges prefer their international students to be on F1, instead of H4. You have to check with your college.</p>
<p>But even if you are on an F1, it does not affect the process of you getting a green card. You will get it when who you are dependent on get it, regardless of whether you are on H1 or F1.</p>
<p>“Might miss out on first year internship opportunities.”</p>
<p>Might not if you are interested enough in the internship to do it without pay. That, in fact, might actually increase your internship options.</p>
<p>Technically speaking, unpaid internships count as employment if other interns are paid for the same position. A while back I read an actual classification of what counts as employment for visa purposes, and I was surprised by some of the criteria that turned a “volunteer” position into employment. Let’s see if I can find it again…</p>
<p>Actually, I was thinking about the potential to be the an intern with an organization that can’t afford to pay any salary. Back in the stone age when I was in college, internships weren’t paid. Summer jobs were. Rich kids got to do nifty unpaid internships with interesting organizations. The rest of us had to go work as life guards, camp counselors, wait staff, etc. I’m guessing that there still are a few unpaid internships out there that would yield marketable experience and future work references.</p>
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<p>Of course, before you do anything, you are going to check with your lawyer, right?</p>